780 Earthquake: Kyongju, South Korea
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Kyongju, South Korea in 780. It killed 100 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- 780
- Place
- Kyongju, South Korea
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.500° N, 129.100° E
- Country
- South Korea
The toll
- Deaths
- 100
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Houses destroyed, more than 100 dead (reference #1213)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 16, 1700, Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan
- August 12, 1664, Chonju,chinan, South Korea
- September 12, 2016, Gyeongju, South Korea
- October 304, Kyongju, South Korea
- June 510, Kyongju, South Korea
- September 12, 664, Kyongju, South Korea
- December 100, Kyongju, South Korea
- 123, Kyongju, South Korea
- July 25, 1643, Sea of Japan, South Korea
- March 2, 1553, Kyongsang-Do, South Korea
- November 15, 2017, Pohang, South Korea
- July 3, 1936, South Korea
More
Significant earthquakes of 780The 700sRecent earthquakes near here
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 188.